


Baby Bird

by Morethancupcake



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Deaf Clint Barton, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, de-aged Clint, tiny Clint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 16:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5463872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morethancupcake/pseuds/Morethancupcake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint wakes up very small in a very big world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby Bird

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, a huge thank you to the very wonderful twangcat who did an amazing job on this :) Thank you so so much.
> 
> This was inspired by thegirlinthebyakko. Thank you for the amazing art, the kind words, and everything, really :) You helped tiny Clint out of his shell.
> 
> thegirlinthebyakko.tumblr.com (this is the way to amazing art, just click shhh you'll thank me later)

Daddy used to smell like beer, and sweat. Smelling him, it wasn't good, it meant it was too late. Clint doesn't like to remember daddy.

Or Barney.

 

Phil smells a little like sweat, but it's nice, because he smells like Phil, like soap and like the candy he keeps in his jacket, just for them to share.

Clint knows something is wrong, he isn't dumb. He was tall, like Phil, and he had a big bow. Now he's not even tall enough to reach the countertops, and it's really hard to reach for the fridge's door but he manages. 

The jar of peppermint is too difficult for him, and Tony laughs and takes pictures of him with his phone. He doesn't remember where his clothes are, and even Nat is laughing. 

He throws the jar at them.

 

Tony is talking about selling him to the zoo, and it's a problem, because he's NOT a monkey, when Phil comes in and makes everything better.

"Hey there, little bird. Come with me ?" 

He goes into Phil's arms, because Phil is safe, and warm, and he's not a monkey, he's a bird.

Phil said so.

 

Phil dresses him with one of his big shirts, and holds him in his arms because he doesn't have socks for him yet. Clint likes to be there, his head resting on Phil's shoulder. When Phil kisses his cheek, he makes these fart noises, and it's so funny, they're both laughing when Tony takes another picture.

Tony is funny too, Clint decides. 

 

But Phil is different. Phil is a little like Santa. He's magical.

Phil makes dinosaur sandwiches, with ham and cheese, and since he made too much, Clint helps him finish them. He doesn't mind, Phil is nice, and they're a team. 

"Friends." Phil corrects him, kissing his head. Phil likes to kiss him. Clint doesn't mind, Phil is very important, and if he needs kisses, he can give them. 

"Friends." Clint nods, and it's a little hard to reach for his friend, but he holds his face in his hand and he kisses his cheek too.

 

Tony says something to a man in the wall, and it's about a recorder, for later, it's difficult, because he's not very loud, and Tony is far away. Phil laughs, but he looks sad, too. Clint wishes he could have his ears right, like everyone else.

 

Bruce tells Clint to stay on the table, and when he isn't serious, he tickles him and it's funny. Bruce can transform into a big monster, but it's a nice monster. When Clint tells him, Bruce doesn't look happy, but he doesn't look sad either. It's something only Bruce can do.

"You can protect me !" Clint says. "You and Phil you can take care of the bad guys, so they can't find me !"

"The bad guys ? Why would they want a little runt like you ?" Tony lifts him and puts him upside down, and Clint laughs really hard, because Tony is very funny, and Bruce laughs, too. Even Phil is smiling at them, from the couch in the corner.

"Daddy is not strong like you !" Clint says. 

And he is dumb, after all. He is, Barney tells him all the time, and Daddy tells him too.

Bruce looks very sad, suddenly, and Tony has to hug him and to kiss him better.

"Hey Phil, what about you and little monkey there go up and see if there's anything you two can watch while we work here ?"

"I'm NOT a monkey !"

Phil holds him close, and takes him away. When they leave, Clint turns his head and he sees Tony kissing Bruce. 

"Is it my fault ?" he asks. Phil looks sad, too, when they move up to their floor. "I'm sorry. Tell Bruce I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, little bird." When Phil hugs him, he pus his hand on the back of his head. This, Clint decides, is probably one of his favorite things about Phil. "It's never your fault."

 

Clint hids in Phil's neck when he spots Captain America. He's standing with other people, but Clint notices him, and he's a little scared, because Cap must be here for him, to take him back home, and he doesn't want to go back. And Phil loves Cap, Phil loves him a lot, maybe more than Clint.

"Well are you shy, now ?" Phil tries to make him say hello, but Clint shakes his head and doesn't want to move. "That's not like you, baby bird."

Steve frowns, but he puts his big hand on Clint's back, and he's very warm.

 

Clint holds on to Phil's shirt, and doesn't let go.

 

"I want to sleep with Phil !!"

He's loud. He knows he's loud. The big bathroom doesn't help, he's sure. He sees the way Nat and Phil wince away from him, but it's so unfair. He doesn't have his aids anymore, so hearing them, and himself is hard, especially with the water, and he doesn't want to sleep in the big empty room.

"Clint, you..." He throws a bottle at Nat, who looks really pissed at him for a second. He's scared, because Nat is strong, but he stays under the spray and doesn't move.

"I want to stay with Phil !! I don't like you !"

"Oh God..." Phil watches Nat, who watches him back. "It looks just like you two a few years back, doesn't it ?" Phil is smiling, and Clint giggles, because it is kind of funny. Phil is so funny.

"I should've known you were going to be trouble." Nat smiles, too, and she throws the bottle back into the tub, making Clint shriek. 

 

Phil's bed is big, and soft, and Clint already has a pillow. It's big, but it's alright. Phil says it's fine to share.

 

Phil is warm, really warm. He lets Clint play with his hand, and he laughs at Clint's stories. It makes him proud, because Phil is very important, and very serious, but when he laugh Clint feels very important, too.

"Phil ?" he asks when the man in the wall turns off the light.

"Yes chatterbox ?" Phil is smiling.

"Is Bruce going to be okay ?"

Phil hugs him. It's something they do, he thinks, because it feels very nice and he feels himself yawn.

"Bruce was just sad, baby bird. He's going to be fine."

"Because Tony is going to kiss him better ?" Phil laughs a little. 

"Yes. Yes I believe he is."

"When you kiss me, it makes everything better." Phil doesn't laugh, at that. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry ?" Clint thinks Phil and him probably talk like this, usually, in the dark. It feels good, and familiar. Barney didn't like it, when Clint spoke in the dark.

"It's my fault. You told me not to go. And now I'm small."

"You're perfect, baby bird. You're perfect."

 

Phil does the thing Mummy used to do, he holds him close, too close, and that way he can cry without Clint watching. 

 

Clint hugs him extra hard. 

 

"Good morning monkey !"

"I AM NOT A MONKEY !"

Tony just laughs at them, and he takes yet another picture of Clint, still very sleepy, his thumb back in his mouth, in Phil's arms.

 

Thor is nice too, and he's very big. Clint likes him, he decides, because he doesn't really make fun of how small Clint is, he doesn't say a word when Clint studies him from the back of the couch, ready to fly if something goes wrong. He talks about his brother, and how Clint is going to be back to himself soon, and everyone seems happy. Relieved.

Clint knows he's difficult, Barney used to tell him all the time. He knows he's too loud, and he doesn't hear well. Even now, the new aids Tony made him are still in the bathroom, even if he promised to wear them. He eats too much, and he talks too much, and he made Bruce sad.

Clint knows he isn't a good boy, and he hopes he can be better, soon, when he'll be big again.

 

"What's wrong, baby bird ?" Phil calls him baby bird, and Clint likes it. He wonder if he'll miss it, when he'll be back to being big. He doesn't answer, even if it isn't polite, and he keeps drawing on the tablet Tony gave him. "Are you mad at me ?"

"No." He draws Lola, next to Phil. 

"Then why are you sad ? What happened to you ?"

"You want me to leave." Phil watches him and he doesn't say a thing. It's never good, when adults do that. It means he's right. "You want me to leave so I can be big and fight. You don't care about me." Phil looks very sad, so Clint smiles and pat his leg. "It's okay. I'll leave soon."

 

Tony gives him a bear, it's supposed to be a Phil bear, he says. The bear is very soft, and he's wearing a suit. Clint curls up around it, and he tries to pretend he doesn't care about the real Phil.

He's not really good at pretending.

 

He has a nightmare, that night. He sleeps alone, in the tiny bed Tony put for him in the room next to his and Phil's. He's with his bear, and he's a big boy, he's supposed to be okay.

Daddy is in the dream. Then it's the circus, and the strange man who wanted to touch him when Barney wasn't there. And suddenly everything is cold and blue, and he wakes up screaming. 

Phil is there in an instant, and Clint doesn't care if he's not a good boy, he doesn't care if he's not useful or if Phil loves Cap more. He lifts his arms so Phil can pick him up, and he hides his face into the nice, soft shirt that smells like home.

 

Phil is the one who takes him to the shower, in the morning. He doesn't speak much, and he doesn't say anything when he spots Clint's aids still in their box. He helps him out of his clothes and into the huge shower, handing him a sponge with a little soap.

-Need help ?-

Phil signs, and Clint feels big tears rolling onto his cheeks his bottom lip doing that funny shaking thing he hates.

Phil must be talking, Clint can feel his chest rumble, but he can't hear anything with the water and the noise around them. Phil takes off most of his wet clothes, and sits on the floor next to him, cleaning them both. 

When they exit the bathroom, Clint points at the box, and Phil helps him puts the aids back on.

 

Phil doesn't leave him. They eat together, Clint sitting in his lap. They watch cartoons, and silly TV shows about dogs, until Phil asks him if a nap would be okay with him. Clint isn't really tired, but they are a team, and he doesn't want Phil to have bad dreams. 

They get under a big blanket on one of the couches, and Tony takes another picture of them, Clint's head on Phil's chest.

Phil does this thing, with his fingers down his back, and Clint finds it really hard to stay awake. 

 

When he wakes up, Clint knows. The body next to him his Phil's, strong and warm, and he's himself too. Strong, warm. Adult. Phil opens his eyes and smiles and guides him to his lips.

"Hello Baby bird." he whispers, eyes still full of sleep.

"Hey. Missed me ?"

"Of course." Phil kisses his forehead, his cheek, and slowly guides him to rest on his chest. "I knew you would come back." It's hard reading lips when they're both mostly asleep. The couch is soft, and Phil's breath tickles the top of his head. 

Clint closes his eyes and joins him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ! If you liked it, please leave kudos, or even a comment ? Comment make me ridiculously happy :)
> 
> You can find this story (and me !) on tumblr. 
> 
>  http://iwanttopizzamanyou.tumblr.com/post/135521800134/baby-bird
> 
> And as usual, please remember to drink, especially if you've been on the computer for a while. Stretch a little and don't forget to snack. If you need a nap, or just to go to bed, this is me telling you it's okay to do so :) Take good care of you.


End file.
